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TtfTVfBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

TWO C0P»E8 ReCSSVED 

AUG. 30 1902 

COPVWGHT ENTRY 

CLASsfWxXa No. 

1 °f 7. 4, / 
COPY S. 



Copyrighted 1902 

By Pepper Publishing Company, 

Philadelphia, Pa. 



2>et>fcatfon* 

To an unknown friend who sent me a 
tract on the * c Second Coming of Christ ' y 
this volume is dedicated. 

Ths Author. 



Contents* 



Introduction— By Rev. Julien S. 

Rodgers 9 

i. The Kingdom 33 

2. The Place of the Gospel ... 47 

3. The End of the Age .... 57 

4. The First Advent 63 

5. The Advent of the Spirit. . . 69 

6. The Office Work of the Spirit 77 
7- The Return of Christ .... 93 

8. The Doctrine of the Resurrec- 

tion 99 

9. The Significance of the Resur- 

rection IQ 9 

10. The First Resurrection ... 117 

11. The Saints Caught Up ... 125 

12. The Great Tribulation ... 133 

13. The Great Judgment .... 145 



Introduction. 



Untrobuctiom 

3Be 1Re\>* 5ulicn S* IRo&aere* 

In this day of Bible study, there 
is no need to defend the teaching of 
our Lord's personal return to earth 
and the establishment of His literal 
kingdom . In the faith of the church , 
the heart of the believer, and the 
word of God, the doctrine is well 
fixed. What is really needed is a 
wider proclamation of the "blessed 
hope" (Tit. 2 : 13), on terms within 
the spiritual and intellectual grasp 
of all. This book is a contribution 
to that end. 

A glance will show the simple 
yet comprehensive view. The book 
opens with "the kingdom' ' for 
which the church has been con- 
tinuously praying since the days 
of Christ's appearance on earth 
(Matt. 6 * 10). John the Baptist 



Introduction* 



was the herald of that kingdom 
(Matt. 3:2), Jesus announced it 
(Matt. 4 : 17), and the Apostles 
proclaimed (Matt. 10 : 17), to "the 
lost sheep of the house of Israel.' ' 
The world, however, and especially 
the Jewish portion, was not ready 
for the king or the kingdom, and 
both were rejected (Matt. 12). The 
king went away, and the kingdom 
was postponed until "the time of 
restitution of all things'' (Acts 
1 : 21). 

As to the characteristics of the 
kingdom in the king's absence, we 
are told in the seven parables of 
Matthew 13, known as the parables 
of the kingdom. As to our atti- 
tude, we are to pray for the coming 
of the kingdom (Matt. 6 : 10), and 
to watch for the return of the 
coming king. Matt. 24 : 42. 

There is no doubt as to the 
nature of the kingdom that will be 



Introduction* 



set up when the king returns. It 
will be literal in every sense. Jere. 
3 : 17, Matt. 25 : 31, Luke 45 : 23, 
Ish. 49 : 6-7. 

The relation of the gospel to the 
coming king and kingdom is plain. 
Its mission is not to convert 
the world, as some contend, or 
"leaven the lump. 5 ' If so, it must 
be confessed after a trial of twenty 
centuries, "the glorious gospel" 
has signally failed. Jesus said 
(Matt. 24 : 14), "This gospel of the 
kingdom shall be preached in all 
the world for a witness unto all 
nations." In the light of this 
authoritative declaration it is still 
"a glorious gospel, " accomplish- 
ing right along the mission for 
which it was intended. The failure 
is due to the world throughout 
which it has been, and is still be- 
ing preached "as a witness.' ' In 
the parable of the sower (Matt. 13: 

11 



Introduction. 



3-8), the sower is all right, and the 
seed is all right; the trouble is with 
the ground, three-fourths of which 
is all wrong (Matt. 13 : 18-24). A 
clear understanding of this gives 
us far more confidence in the gospel 
of the kingdom, and far less confi- 
dence in the productive power of 
the world. 

When the gospel of the king- 
dom " shall be preached in all the 
world for a witness unto all nations/ ' 
Jesus said (Matt. 24 : 14), "then 
shall the end come"; of course He 
meant the end of this age. 

The end of this age, called in 
the dispensations the " times of the 
Gentiles" (Lnke 21 : 24), will be 
marked by several important and 
stupendous events. 

1. The descent of the Lord from 
heaven. 

" For the Lord, Himself, shall de- 
scend from heaven with a shout, 
12 



Introduction* 



with the voice of the archangel and 
with the trump of God " (i Thess. 
4 : 16). _ 

This is the first phase of what is 
popularly called " the second com- 
ing of Christ." It does not say 
the Lord will come to earth, but 
will " descend from heaven." The 
subsequent verses make it plain 
why He does not come to earth at 
this time. 

Many are contending to-day, that 
the second coming of our Lord will 
be a secret affair, some going so far 
as to say He has been here in hid- 
ing since 1874. I do not think this 
passage of scripture suggests any 
secrecy in connection with the 
event. On the contrary, the l c shout 
of the Lord," the " voice of the 
archangel ' ' and the ' ' trump of God ' } 
will make it a very noisy and spec- 
tacular affair. 

13 



Introduction. 



2. The resurrection of the dead 
in Christ. 

"And the dead in Christ shall 
rise first" (i Thess. 4 : 16). 

This is called " the first resurrec- 
tion" (Rev. 20 : 5-6). It is con- 
firmed by Paul (1 Cor. 15 : 52), 
and by John (Rev. 20 : 5-6). The 
cases of Lazarus, the widow's son 7 
and others, were simply restora- 
tions to life, and are not to be con- 
fused with the two resurrections 
mentioned in John 5:29. 

This is, peculiarly, the resurrec- 
tion of " the dead in Christ," and 
has no reference to the resurrection 
of " the rest of the dead " which 
takes place some time afterwards 
(Rev. 20 : 5). 

Paul, in his inspired commentary 
on 1 Thess. 4 : 16, says (1 Cor. 15 : 
52-53), " The dead will be raised 
incorruptible and immortal.' ' Of 
course, he refers to the redemption 

14 



Introduction* 



of the body, which will be ac- 
complished at this time. The spirit 
is redeemed in life (Jno. 3 : 36), and 
departs at death to be " with Christ' } 
(Phil. 1 : 23)0 This occasion, then, 
will mark the reunion of Spirit and 
body in the redeemed state, and their 
presence with the Lord forever. 
(1 Thess. 4 : 18). Well does John 
say (Rev. 20:6), " Blessed and 
holy is he that hath part in the first 
resurrection; on such the second 
death hath no power, but they shall 
be priests of God and of Christ, and 
shall reign with Him a thousand 
years.' y 

3. The rapture of the living 
saints. 

Then we which are alive and re- 
main shall be caught up together 
with these in the clouds to meet the 
Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4 : 16). 

The rapture of the living saints 
will be simultaneous with the resur- 

15 



Introduction. 



rection of the righteous dead. Paul 
is particular to say (i Thess. 4:15, 
A. R. V.) that " we that are alive, 
that are left unto the coming of the 
Lord, shall in nowise precede them 
that are fallen asleep." Both will 
be translated together, and will 
meet the descending Lord in the 
air. 

The rapture of the living saints 
will be preceded by a " change M 
in their condition (1 Cor. 15 : 51). 
It will be a change from corruption 
to incorruption, from mortality to 
immortality, and will be essential 
(1 Cor. 15 : 53). In point of time, 
it will be "in a moment, in the 
twinkling of an eye, at the last 
trump" (1 Cor. 15 151). 

This makes it plain why the Lord 
does not come to earth at this time. 
He is met in the air by His rapt- 
ured and resurrected ones, who 

henceforth are "ever with the 
16 



Introduction* 



Lord " (i Thess. 4 : 17). This is the 
coming of the bridegroom for the 
bride (John 14 : 13), and is followed 
by the marriage of the Lamb (Rev. 
19 : 7), and the judgment of works 
(1 Cor. 3 : 13-15). 

It is inspiring to think there will 
be one generation that will not taste 
physical death (1 Cor. 15 : 51), but 
" in a moment, in the twinkling of 
an eye," will be " changed" and 
" caught up" to meet the coming 
and triumphant Lord. The very 
thought suggests the prayer of the 
aged Apostle on Patmos : " Even 
so, come, Lord Jesus" (Rev. 22 : 20). 
What if we should be that favored 
generation ! 

" Oh, joy ! oh, delight ! should we go without 

dying, 
No sickness, no sadness, no dread and no 

crying; 
Caught up thro* the clouds with our I/)rd into 
glory, 

When Jesus receives His own! " 

17 



Introduction* 



4. The great tribulation. 

For then shall be great tribula- 
tion, such as was not since the be- 
ginning of the world to this time ; 
no, nor ever shall be (Matt. 
24 : 21). Cp. Dan. 12 : 1. 

The taking of the church out of 
the world will usher in the great 
tribulation. The two things that 
will contribute to this are {a) the 
absence of the Holy Spirit from 
earth, and (b) the presence of the 
Devil (Rev. 12 : 12) on earth. 

The Devil was first cast out of 

the Mountain of God (Bzek. 28 : 16) 

into the air (Eph. 2 : 2). When 

Jesus comes in the air (1 Thess. 

4 : 17) he is cast down to the earth 

(Rev. 12 : 12). Later, when Jesus 

comes to earth he is cast out of the 

earth into the bottomless pit (Rev. 

20 : 2-3). Thus, in three stages, He 

reaches His end. 

The presence of the Devil on 
18 



Introduction* 



earth at this time will be literal and 
personal. As lie was formerly in- 
carnated in Judas (Luke 22 : 3), so 
will he incarnate himself again in 
the person of the Antichrist (2 
Thess. 2 : 3-4). Thus utterly unop- 
posed, and knowing his time is 
short (Rev. 12: 12), he will rule the 
world with a high hand. The pres- 
ent spirit of lawlessness which oc- 
casionally breaks out in spite of the 
restraining presence of the church 
and power of the law, is but a mild 
type of that lawlessness and fury 
that will surge like the billows of 
an angry sea, when the pent-up 
passions of men are loosened and 
directed by the fiendish presence 
of Satan himself. No wonder, it is 
said (Rev. 9 : 6) " in those days 
shall men seek death, and shall not 
find it." Thank God the bride will 
be at the marriage supper of the 
Lamb. 

19 



Introduction. 



This period will be peculiarly 
trying on "the elect," God's ancient 
people. Under the rule and au- 
thority of the Antichrist, they will 
get their fill of sorrow. " Except 
those days should be shortened, 
there should no flesh be saved ; but 
for the elect's sake those days shall 
be shortened " (Matt. 24 : 22). In 
the midst of their trouble, and at 
the culmination of the Antichrist's 
power, the heavens will part on Mt. 
Olivet, the Lord will appear, and 
the Antichrist be consumed with 
"the spirit of his mouth," and de- 
stroyed with "the brightness of 
his coming " (2 Thess. 2 : 8). 

In the meantime, " the outcast 
of Israel" and the " dispersed of 
JudaVwill be gathered together 
from "the four corners of the 
earth" (Ish. 11 : 12). God will 
cleanse and pardon all their iniqui- 
ties (Jere. 33 : 7-9), and will make 



20 



Introduction* 



with them " tlie everlasting cove- 
nant, even the sure mercies of 
David," 

5. The second coming of the 
Lord. 

Immediately after the tribulation 
of those days shall the sun be dark- 
ened, and the moon shall not give 
her light, and the stars shall fall 
from heaven, and the powers of the 
heavens shall be shaken. 

And then shall appear the sign 
of the Son of man in heaven : and 
then shall all the tribes of the earth 
mourn, and they shall see the Son 
of man coming in the clouds of 
heaven with power and great glory 
(Matt. 24 : 29-30). 

This is the second phase of what 
is popularly called the " Second 
coming of Christ, " and marks His 
return to earth. It is separated 
from the first phase by the space of 
the tribulation period, supposed to 
be seven years. 

21 



Introduction* 



It is equally as sensational as His 
appearance in the air. Instead of 
the im sliout of the Lord," the " voice 
of the archangel," and the " trump 
of God," there is the darkened sun 
and moon, the falling stars, and the 
shaking powers of the heavens. In 
the midst of all the Son of man is 
revealed "in the clouds of heaven 
with power and great glory." 

One cannot help contrast this 
advent of the Lord with His first 
coming to earth. Instead of tri- 
umph entry, it was a humiliation. 
It was from the throne of God to 
the grave of Joseph of Arimathea ! 
This time, however, it is "in the 
clouds of heaven with power and 
great glory!" 

As His first coming was literal in 
every sense, so His second coming 
will be literal in every sense. He 
is coming Himself (i Thess. 4 : 16) 
to sit on a throne (Matt. 25: 31) ; it 

22 



Introduction* 



is the throne of David (Luke i : 32); 
it is on the earth (Jere. 23 : 5-6) ; it 
is in Jerusalem (Ish. 33 : 20-21) ; it 
is a kingdom (Dan. 7 : 13-14); and 
it has its subjects (Rev. 2 : 27). 

6. The Millennium. 

And I saw an angel come down 
from heaven, having the key of the 
bottomless pit and a great chain in 
his hand. 

2 And he laid hold on the dragon, 
that old serpent, which is the 
Devil, and Satan, and bound him 
a thousand years. 

3. And cast him into the bot- 
tomless pit, and shut him up, and 
set a seal upon him, that he should 
deceive the nations no more, till 
the thousand years should be ful- 
filled : and after that he must be 
loosed a little season. 

4. And I saw thrones, and they 
sat upon them, and judgment was 
given unto them : and / saw the 

23 



Introduction. 



souls of them that were beheaded 
for the witness of Jesus, and for the 
word of God, and which had not 
worshipped the beast, neither his 
image, neither had received his 
mark upon their foreheads, nor in 
their hands ; and they lived and 
reigned with Christ a thousand 
years (Rev. 20 : 2-4). 

The destruction of the Anti- 
christ, the binding of Satan, the 
return of the Lord Jesus to this 
earth, and His assumption of the 
throne of David must mean a dif- 
ferent order of things for the 
world. It is, indeed, the reversal 
of all previous conditions, and the 
setting up of the royal standard of 
God. The blessedness of this era 
is briefly hinted in Isaiah (65 : 17- 

25). 

A particular feature of the Mil- 
lennium , in addition to the personal 
reign of the Lord Himself, will be 
24 



Introduction* 



the reign of the Lord's people with 
Him (Rev. 20 : 6). They will pos- 
sess the kingdom forever (Dan. 
7 : 18), and will reign forever 
(Rev. 22 : 5). This is qnite a re- 
versal of the present lowly position 
of the saints, and snggests the 
words of the Master (Matt. 5 : 5). 

7. The Consummation. 

When the curtain goes down on 
the Millennium, events will follow 
each other in rapid succession. 

(a) Loosing of Satan out of his 
prison. 

And when the thousand years 
are expired, Satan shall be loosed 
out of his prison (Rev. 20 : 7). 

Immediately he is released, he 
resumes his opposition to Christ. 
He begins his final campaign of 
deception and warfare. He mar- 
shals his hosts against "the be- 
loved city," the capital of the mil- 
lennial kingdom, where the saints 

25 



Introduction* 



are fortified, and hurls himself 
against it in one desperate attempt 
to overthrow it. 

The issue is short, sharp, de- 
cisive. In the midst of his daring 
attack, fire comes down from God 
out of heaven, his followers are de- 
voured and he is bound, and cast 
into the lake of fire and brimstone 
to be tormented day and night for- 
ever (Rev. 20 : 9-10). 

It is gratifying to know this will 
be the end of the arch-deceiver, as 
far as the saints are concerned, 
and that he goes to the place pre- 
pared especially for him and his 
angels (Matt. 25 : 41). 

(6) The great white throne. 

And the devil that deceived 

them was cast into the lake of fire 

and brimstone, where the beast 

and the false prophet are, and shall 

be tormented day and night for 

ever and ever. 
26 



Introduction* 



And I saw a great white throne, 
and him that sat on it, from whose 
face the earth and the heaven fled 
away, and there was found no 
place for them (Rev. 20 : 10-11). 

Before the awful presence of Je- 
hovah, the dead, both great and 
small, are gathered. This includes 
"the rest of the dead' } (Rev. 20 : 
5), and the dead that " the sea gave 
up," and that " death and hell gave 
up" (Rev. 20 : 13). The dead in 
Christ, and those who were alive 
and remained at His coming were 
raised a thousand years before, 
and have been living and reigning 
with Him. 

"The book" and "the books" 
will figure in the awful assize. 
The assembled dead will be judged 
out of " the books," i. <?., the indi- 
vidual volumes of life, the records 
each have made on earth. Paul 

says (Rom. 14:12 A.R.V.)," Each 

27 



Introduction* 



one of us shall give an account of 
himself to God." Memory will be 
quickened, and eacli one will be 
made to read off the account re- 
corded there in his own hand- 
writing. All who are not found 
written in " the book of life," the 
Word of God, perhaps, "will be 
cast into the lake of fire " (Rev. 

20 : 4). 

(c) The new heavens and earth. 

And I saw a new heaven and a 
new earth : for the first heaven and 
the first earth were passed away ; 
and there was no more sea (Rev. 

21 : 1). 

The Holy City comes down from 
God out of heaven adorned as a bride 
for her husband. God announces 
henceforth, his tabernacle with 
men ; with His own hands he 
wipes away all tears. Death, the 
last enemy, is abolished, and to all 

that are athirst the fountain of the 

28 



Introduction* 



water of life is given freely (Rev. 
21 : 2-7). 

Such, in brief, is tlie story out- 
lined by this book. A reading of its 
pages cannot fail to give a clearer 
vision of prophetic truth and 
a more intense realization of " the 
blessed hope." 

JULIEN S. RoDGERS, 
Director Tabernacle Bible Institute, 

Atlanta, Ga. 



29 



IRtngfcom. 



I. 
Gbe IRingfcom. 

" And this gospel of the kingdom shall be 
preached in all the world for a witness unto all 
nations; and then shall the end come." 
— Matt. 24. ; 14, 

It was ever tlie purpose of God 
to establish His kingdom. Acci- 
dents with Him do not occur. 

Jesus Christ, the King, was not 
an accident. He did not come 
from heaven to earth because of a 
failure of God's plans. His was, 
in no sense, an emergency mis- 
sion — something hatched up to 
make amend for heaven's mis- 
takes. God's purpose in Christ 
Jesus was from the beginning. 
He was ever "The Lamb slain 
from the foundation of the world." 
Men were never saved by the law 
separate from Christ. He was 
ever the salvation of the world. 
Before His advent men were saved 
through the Messiah to come, as 

33 



The Kingdom* 



to-day they are saved through the 
Messiah who has come. 

Likewise the kingdom is no 
afterthought — something determ- 
ined upon after the world's blun- 
ders. It was planned from the 
beginning. It is not to be a re- 
stored Eden, any more than a re- 
generated soul is a restored Adam. 
Eden could not be God's kingdom. 
Eden had no Divine king. Its 
government was centered in man. 
The devil walked and stalked in 
the midst of creation. This can- 
not be God's idea of His kingdom. 
His kingdom must be absolute. 
It's ordained from the beginning. 
It is the coming together of all the 
roads that have been cut through 
the centuries for the deliverance 
of God's people. It is the green, 
flower-scented oasis in the desert 
of time, giving God's redeemed 
ones a full and complete vision of 

34 



The Kingdom. 



the untainted power and purity of 
the work of the Creator. 

It is not an interjection. It is 
a part of the great panorama 
which delighted the eye of God in 
the early morn of creation. It is 
a part of the plans and specifica- 
tions drawn by heaven's artist for 
heaven's glory and the world's re- 
demption. Oh, let us look up 
from the narrow confines of the 
finite and catch even a faint 
glimpse of the infinite. Let us 
cease carping about mistakes and 
accidents in the economy of God. 
Let us lose ourselves in the might 
and majesty of the eternal purpose 
of " Him who was in the begin- 
ning, is now, and ever shall be." 

jEstablfsbefc on Eartb, 

It has also been God's purpose 
that His kingdom should be estab- 
lished on earth. There are those 

35 



The Kingdom* 



who think its establishment is 
heaven. But, heaven is not yet. 
Heaven is at the culmination of 
time. It's beyond the kingdom. 
It's the day of full reward for vic- 
tories won ; time is no more. In- 
fluences and activities have ceased. 
The judgment of the great white 
throne has passed, and the eternal 
ages have been flung open. This 
is what we call heaven. The king- 
dom of God spoken of in the text 
is on this side of this vast elysium 
of bliss. Hear the old Prophet 
Zechariah — say nothing of the 
scores of other teachers — as he de- 
livers himself with respect to this 
subject: "And his feet shall stand 
in that day upon the Mount of 
Olives, which is before Jerusalem 
on the east, and the Mount of 
Olives shall cleave in the midst 
thereof toward the east and toward 
the west ; and there shall be a very 
36 



The Kingdom* 



great valley ; and lialf of the moun- 
tain shall remove toward the north, 
and half of it toward the south. 
And ye shall flee to the valley of 
the mountains ; for the valley of 
the mountains shall reach unto 
Azal : yea, ye shall flee, like as ye 
fled from before the earthquake in 
the days of Uzziah, King of Judah ; 
and the Lord, my God, shall come, 
and all the saints with thee (Zech. 
14 : 4-5). No one can doubt this 
refers to the earthly kingdom. And 
it is a fact that a large per cent, of 
the Old Testament Scripture refer- 
ences to Jesus Christ are to His 
coming for His kingdom rather 
than His first advent. The proper 
recognition of this fact may ac- 
count for much of the skepticism 
of the world. Certainly it accounts 
for much of the bewilderment of 
the Jew. He is looking for the 
King. Thank God, some day he 

37 



The Kingdom* 



shall see Him in all tlie spectacular 
glory of his ancient dreams. 

And lie shall not simply see the 
King; but also the vast domain of 
His kingdom. The devil shall be 
chained and sealed in the pit to de- 
ceive the nations of earth no more 
until the thousand years are passed. 
The kingdoms of the earth, now 
divided against themselves, shall 
be belted together by Jesus Christ, 
who shall reign in all the affairs of 
earth. 

Greater tban tbe jflag* 

What a blessed hope. No won- 
der the Apostle Paul said,"Where- 
fore comfort ye one another with 
these things ( i Thess . 4:18). From 
Milan to Paris, I rode in a railroad 
carriage with a Spanish naval of- 
ficer. We alone occupied the car- 
riage. I could not speak to him, 
and he could not speak to me. 
38 



The Kingdom* 



Botli of us must have been a bit 
nervous for our security. Finally, 
lie became very anxious to know 
my nationality, and I was not 
wholly averse to knowing his. I 
thought of my flag, the glorious 
old " Stars and Stripes." I took it 
out of my pocket and gave it a 
slight wave. That settled it. It 
was a language very expressive to 
him. He seemed much subdued, 
and I felt much strengthened. He 
knew, and I knew, that behind me 
and that flag there was every man- 
of-war in our navy, and every gun 
in our army, and every ablebodied 
son of America ready to fight. Oh, 
the strength one feels when around 
him is wrapped the flag of our na- 
tion. There is no power on this 
earth to-day that equals it. But, 
Oh, Christians, this security is not 
to be compared to that which we 
shall feel when Jesus comes and 

39 



The Kingdom* 



sets his face against the powers of 
darkness to reign over the united 
kingdoms of earth. 

TRefgn in person. 

Again, this kingly administra- 
tion of Jesus shall be personal, and 
not spiritual. I used to think dif- 
ferently about this. I used to think 
that the more than three hundred 
references in the New Testament 
to the second coming of Jesus, and 
the establishment of His kingdom 
on earth, referred to a spiritual king 
and a spiritual kingdom. Thou- 
sands and thousands of my breth- 
ren, many of whose shoe latchets 
I am not worthy to unloose, still 
have this view. But, for the life 
of me, I cannot see how it can be. 
When I come to apply the same 
reasoning and rules of interpreta- 
tion to the Scripture referring to 

His second coming and His king- 

40 



The Kingdom. 



dom, that are applied to the inter- 
pretation of the old prophecies con- 
cerning His first advent, I am at 
once amazed to know that I ever 
spiritualized one, and not the 
other. Language cannot be made 
any plainer than that which is used 
descriptive of Christ's second com- 
ing and the establishment of His 
kingdom. If His second coming 
is spiritual, and the kingdom which 
He is coming to establish is like- 
wise spiritual, then the same law of 
interpretation will make His first 
coming spiritual. Oh, what a ca- 
lamity this would be. It would 
rob the manger of its poetry and 
pathos. It would stop the song of 
the angel chorus on the morning 
of his birth. It would annul the 
matchless teaching, by precept and 
example, of our blessed Lord. It 
would climb the slopes of Calvary 
and hide away the blood of the 

41 



The Kingdom. 



covenant. It wonld pass over as a 
myth the story of the sepulchre, 
and frown with scorn upon the glo- 
ries of Olivet. If the second com- 
ing of Jesus is spiritual the sub- 
limest picture contained in the gal- 
lery of inspired truth is destroyed, 
that picture of the disciples assem- 
bled together on the day of His 
ascension when the invisible char- 
iot of God, let down from heaven, 
caught up the Savior, and bore Him 
away to His far away home in the 
glory. You remember the com- 
forting message of the angel as if 
dropped from the lips of the ascend- 
ing Lord, " Ye men of Galilee, why 
stand ye here, gazing up into 
heaven ? This same Jesus whom 
ye have seen go up into heaven 
shall so come in like manner as ye 
have seen Him go into heaven" 
(Acts i : n). Oh, precious mes- 
sage ; let the world catch it up. Let 
42 



The Kingdom. 



it be the marshall song of the host 
of Israel. He is coming, the King ! 
the King ! The pattern prayer of 
the saints, "Thy kingdom come, 
Thy will be done in earth as in 
heaven," will be heard. Jesus, the 
rejected, will yet seize the reins of 
government and wield the sword of 
power. 



4? 



place 

of 

tbe 

(3o0pel 



II. 
Gbe place of tbe ©ospel. 

"This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached 
in all the world for a witness unto all nations.' ' 
— Matt. 24 : 14, 

Now let us see the witness of the 
gospel in the preparation of the 
kingdom. I am glad that it is not 
a mere code of morals which the 
gospel is to set up. If so, there 
would be little hope. Morality is 
good so far as it goes. I have al- 
ways felt like punching the man 
who belittles moral character. As 
between two men, one a rake and 
the other a moralist, who would not 
prefer the moralist ? But let such 
a man or woman understand that 
even a perfect moral life will not fit 
one for the kingdom. The plan of 
God, the author of salvation, pro- 
vides that "The Lamb slain," owned 
and acknowledged as Saviour and 
Lord, is alone a prerequisite for this 

47 



The Place of the GospeL 



glorified citizenship. There can be 
no other. Reject Jesus Christ, let 
the life be as it may, and God in His 
redemptive work would be set at 
naught. The whole scheme of salva- 
tion wrought out to the world,would 
have to be smashed in pieces to let 
one soul in, who rejected Jesus 
Christ. 

Again, it is not reformation that 
we are to seek after and look for. 
Let me not be misunderstood. I 
do not discount the work of the re- 
former. Every minister of Jesus 
Christ, as well as every Christian 
in the army, has a duty to his 
country. He is bound before God 
to seek the highest possible civic 
life. He is to condemn wrong, and 
uphold right. He is to be interested 
in man and measures. He is a di- 
vinely appointed policeman. The 
call of God to him is as real as to the 

old prophets. "Policeman, what 
48 



The Place of the GospeU 



of the night?' } No Christian has 
a right to remain in doors singing 
psalms, while the stream of sin and 
pollution flows with such deadly 
momentum by the door of his home. 
But this is not the primary pur- 
pose of the gospel. 

Zbc Xost 

It must also be understood that 
the gospel of this dispensation is not 
for the conversion of the whole 
world. If this were true we would 
have to stamp failure upon the face 
of the Old Book. It has not, nor 
never will save the world until 
Jesus comes. In speaking of this 
matter He Himself said, " But as 
the days of Noah were, so shall also 
the coming of the Son of man be. 
For as in the days that were before 
the flood they were eating and 
drinking, marrying and giving in 
marriage, until the day that Noah 

49 



The Place of the Gospel. 



entered into the ark, and knew not 
until the flood came, and took them 
all away ; so shall also the coming 
of the Son of man be. Then shall 
two be in the field ; the one shall 
be taken, and the other left. Two 
women shall be grinding at the 
mill ; the one shall be taken and 
the other left. Watch therefore ; 
for you know not what hour your 
Lord doth come" (Matt. 24 : 37-42). 
The world was not saved in the 
days of Noah. It will not be saved 
when Jesus comes. The one hope 
of a redeemed world is the return 
of our Lord. The devil must be 
chained; Jesus Himself must be 
in control. Two kings cannot 
reign in one kingdom. This will 
be the answer to "the Lord's 
prayer." It is the time when we 
will sing with full meaning the old 
coronation hymn : 
50 



The Place of the Gospel. 



"All hail the power of Jesus* name, 

Let angels prostrate fall; 
Bring forth the royal diadem, 

And crown Him Lord of all." 

But what part lias the gospel to 
play in the preparation for the 
kingdom ? Our text declares : " It 
shall be a witness, a testimony." 
The preaching of the gospel is for 
this purpose. 

H Witness tor Gbrfst* 

The whole gospel from begin- 
ning to end is a witness for Christ. 
As all roads pointed to Rome, so 
all Scripture points to Christ. I 
am sorry for the preacher who 
cannot preach the Old Testament 
because he tires of its symbols. 
These symbols and ceremonies, 
these stories and metaphors, are 
to the kingdom of grace like the 
stars that light up the firmament 
before the rising of the sun. They 
all point to Christ. Oh, the mar- 

51 



The Place of the GospeU 



velous Book — a witness for Jesus. 

This is the primary purpose of 
the preached gospel. What a re- 
sponsibility and a comfort. I am 
the medium through which the 
blessed spirit shall speak the words 
of light and life. 

It is not only to the unsaved a 
witness, but to the saved as well. 
Many of us, I am afraid, do not 
feel this to-day. The witness of 
the gospel shall testify to fidelity 
or infidelity. We have heard the 
message of truth. To what ex- 
tent has it taken hold of our lives ? 
They stand out before us to-day 
with burning eloquence. But, 
what of it all ? Has the witness 
been a blessing or a curse ? Has 
it made us less selfish, less irrita- 
ble, less sensitive, less worldly, 
less grasping for the world ? Has 
it more and more broken the fal- 
low ground of the heart of flesh 

52 



The Place of the GospeU 



and brought into our life a like- 
ness of Christ ? Oh, soul, in tlie 
light of these opportunities, most 
terrible is thy responsibility. Like 
awful ghosts they may now be 
marshalling to torture thee. 



53 



j£no 

of 

tbe 

Hge. 



III. 
Zhc i£nfc of tbe Hge* 

"Then sliall tlie end come" 
(Matt. 24 : 14). Not the end of the 
world, but the age. Some argue 
that this Scripture is Jewish. It 
may be. I don't know. I think 
it is for us as much as the Jew. 
The end of the age is the begin- 
ning of the millennial reign of 
Christ. Jesus had just been talk- 
ing about these things, and His 
disciples, filled with awe, asked 
Him, " When shall these things 
be?" Jesus answered, " When ye 
say, Blessed is He that cometh in 
the name of the Lord. 7 ' Blessed 
inspiration. The hope of the world 
— the end of the age. The end of 
the reign of the prince of the 
powers of the air. The end of war 
and bloodshed. The end of op- 
pression and strife. The end of 

57 



The End of the Age* 



greed and grab. The end of civic 
corruption and corporate license. 
The end of strife and present un- 
christian and unbrotherly attitude 
of nation to nation. The end of 
the rule of such as we now see — 
a miserably subsidized Congress 
that would hold out to struggling 
Cuba, the cup of salvation in her 
liberation from the iron bondage 
of Spain, and enslave her afresh in 
the bondage of direst poverty by a 
miserable tariff, which prevents her 
marketing the fruit of her produc- 
tive fields. Oh, the end, the end. 
The end of mothers' tears and 
fathers' woes. The end of disap- 
pointment. The end of cruel and 
unjust criticism and persecution. 
The end of being a target at which 
the world hurls the missiles of 
death and destruction. The end 
of the waiting bride and the 
anxious bridegroom. Thank God, 
58 



The End of the Age* 



I have a title to the kingdom. I 
have taken out my naturalization 
papers. 

XTbe Sews* 

The end of the age will also be 
the end of the vexing Jewish prob- 
lem. When Jesus comes again 
the Jews will take him as Messiah 
and He will restore them as a 
people. "And it shall come to pass 
in that day that the Lord shall set 
his hand again the second time to 
recover the remnant of his people, 
which shall be left, from Assyria, 
and from Egypt, and from Pathros, 
and from Cush, and from Elam, 
and from Shinar, and from Ha- 
math, and from the islands of the 
sea. And he shall set up an en- 
sign for the nations, and shall as- 
semble the outcasts of Israel, and 
gather together the dispersed of 
Judah from the four corners of the 

59 



The End of the Age. 



earth" (Is. n : 11-12). "For I 
will take you from among the na- 
tions, and gather you out of all the 
countries, and will bring you into 
your ownland " (Ezek. 36 : 24. R. V.). 
"And say unto them, Thus saith 
the Lord God : ' Behold, I will take 
the children of Israel from among 
the heathen, whither they be gone, 
and will gather them on every side, 
and bring them into their own 
land^" (Ezek. 37 : 21). " Behold, 
at that time I will undo all that 
afflict thee: and I will save her 
that halteth, and gather her that 
was driven out ; and I will get 
them praise and fame in every land 
where they have been put to shame. 
At that time will I bring you 
again, even in the time that I 
gather you : for I will make you 
a name and a praise among all 
people of the earth, when I turn 
back your captivity before your 
eyes, saith the Lord " (Zeph. 3 : 
19-20. 
60 



jfirst 
advent. 



IV. 

Gbe jfirst Htwent. 

"And I will put enmity between thee and the 
woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it 
shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his 
heel." — Gen, j ; ij. 

It is our purpose to trace a few 
of tlie most important prophesies 
concerning our Lord's first advent, 
for the purpose of showing the im- 
portance of letting the Scriptures 
speak for themselves. 

In tracing them let us remem- 
ber that the same law of interpre- 
tation must be applied to the 
Scriptures referring to His second 
coming. 

(Suggestions from Rev. Shalto 
Douglas, England). 

Isa. 7 : 14. — Born of a virgin. 

Micah 5 : 2. — At Bethlehem. 

Ho sea 11 : 2. — Anointed with 
the Spirit. 

63 



The First Advent. 



Zech. 9 : 9. — Entry into Jerusa- 
lem. 

Ps. 41 : 55-14. — Betrayed by a 
friend. 

Zech. 15 : 7. — Forsaken by His 
disciples. 

Zech. 11 : 12. — Sold for thirty 
pieces of silver. 

Zech. 11 : 15. — Potters field 
bought. 

Isa. 50 : 6. — Spit upon and 
scourged. 

Ex. 12 : 46. — Not a bone broken. 

Ps. 69 : 21. — Gall and vinegar. 

Ps. 29 : 18. — Garments parted 
and lots cast. 

Ps. 22 : 8. — Taunted with non- 
deliverance by God. 

Ps. 22 : 7. — Mocked at. 

Ps. 22 : 16. — Feet pierced. 

Isa. 5 j : 5. — Despised and re- 
jected. 

Isa. 5j : 7. — Opened not His 
mouth. 
64 



The First Advent. 



Isa. 5j : 8— Moved from court to 
court. 

I sa -53 : 9-~ -Pronounced guiltless 
by all. 

ha. 53 : zo. — Bruised of God. 

These Scriptures liave all been 
literally fulfilled. Surely no faith- 
ful student of the Bible will deny 
this. Why then by the same law 
of interpretation are we not to ex- 
pect those Scriptures which refer 
to the second advent of Jesus to be 
literally fulfilled? 



65 



Cbe 

Hovent 

of 

tbe 
Spirit 



V. 

Gbe Bbvent of tbe Spirit. 

" That Holy Spirit of Promise."— i John 4 ; 2. 

We pass now to what is termed 
" the day of the Spirit." The world 
may be divided into three parts, 
the age of God the Father, God the 
Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It 
is true, of course, that the trinity 
was and is engaged in each of these 
periods, yet it pleased God that 
each person of the trinity should 
have His day. The Spirit age is 
our field to-day. And we shall see 
that all the prophesies concerning 
the Holy Spirit's day have been 
and are being literally fulfilled. 

Zhat Spirit of promise, 

' ( That Spirit of promise," di- 
rectly speaking, is a reference to 
Luke 24:49. — "And, behold, I send 
the promise of my Father upon 

69 



The Advent of the Spirit* 

you : but tarry ye in the city of Je- 
rusalem, until ye be endued with 
power from on high." And yet it 
may go back even further than 
this, for the day of the Spirit is 
also a prophecy of the Old Testa- 
ment Scriptures (Joel 2 : 28-29). 
"And it shall come to pass after- 
ward, that I will pour my Spirit 
upon all flesh ; and your sons and 
your daughters shall prophesy, 
your old men shall dream dreams, 
your young men shall see visions. 
And also upon the servants and 
upon the handmaids in those days 
will I pour out my spirit." Here 
is a prophesy dating back seven or 
eight hundred years before the 
promise made by Christ in Luke. 
Let us see its fulfillment. 

1Fn 1bfs BJwent. 

Jesus has ascended. The dis- 
ciples have tarried in the upper 
70 



The Advent of the Spirit. 

room until the Holy Spirit lias 
come upon tliem. A congregation 
lias assembled, and tlie Spirit takes 
charge. Peter is selected to preach, 
and the Spirit takes charge of him 
and his preaching. Oh, what 
power. Never before was anything 
like it seen on earth. The very 
men, who, awhile ago were cursing 
and swearing at these timid dis- 
ciples, are now pricked in their 
hearts and calling for wisdom. 
"What does all this mean, and 
what shall we do ? " It was not a 
crime to interrupt the preacher in 
those days. Fortunately for the 
world, Peter was not pastor of some 
aesthetic club, masked under the 
name " church," or the elders 
might have had these men put out 
for interrupting the thread of the 
pastor's essay. But Peter, thank 
God, was free, and the church was 
free, for all had received the prom- 

71 



The Advent of the Spirit* 

ised power. There is always lib- 
erty under such circumstances. 

So the preacher stops to answer 
the honest cry for light. This is 
that which was spoken by the Pro- 
phet Joel. Joel 2 : 28-32 — "And it 
shall come to pass afterward, that I 
will pour out my spirit upon all 
flesh ; and your sons and your 
daughters shall prophesy, your old 
men shall dream dreams, your 
young men shall see visions. And 
also upon the servants and upon 
the handmaids in those daj^s will 
I pour out my spirit. And I will 
shew wonders in the heavens and 
in the earth, blood, and fire, and 
pillars of smoke. The sun shall 
be turned into darkness, and the 
moon into blood, before the great 
and terrible day of the Lord comes. 
And it shall come to pass, that 
whosoever shall call on the name 

of the Lord shall be delivered : for 
72 



The Advent of the Spirit 

in mount Zion and in Jerusalem 
shall be deliverance, as tlie Lord 
hath said, and in the remnant 
wliom the Lord shall call." Oh, 
beloved, this is " the day of the 
Holy Spirit." This is His public 
induction to office. Now He is 
here to represent the Trinity in 
bringing the world to Christ Jesus. 



n 



©ffice 

Work 

of 

tbe 

Spirit 



VI. 

£be ©ffice Morft of the Spirit 

But we must now turn from this 
phase of the subject to His office 
work. In doing so I am aware of 
two things: 

i. That the time will prevent 
me from going into detail. 

2. That much of what I shall 
present is common among be- 
lievers. 

• But I comfort myself over the 
fact that the more frequently we 
hear truth the more we love it. So, 
let us face afresh, some of the 
most important offices of "that 
Spirit of promise.' ' We shall limit 
ourselves to 

ffiis TKHorft in tbe Believer* 

i. He was to rest upon the 
Saviour. 

Isaiah 1 1 : 2. — "And the spirit of 

77 



The Office Work of the Spirit 

the Lord shall rest upon him, the 
spirit of wisdom and understand- 
ing, the spirit of counsel and 
might, the spirit of knowledge and 
of fear of the Lord." Now see the 
fulfillment in Matt. 3 : 16-17 : 
"And Jesus, when he was baptized, 
went up straightway out of the 
water ; and, lo, the heavens were 
opened unto Him, and He saw the 
Spirit of God descending like a 
dove, and lighting upon Him: And 
lo, a voice from heaven, saying, 
'This is my beloved Son, in whom 
I am well pleased. 5 " 

How important this experience. 
I believe we should teach our peo- 
ple to look up and behold the Spirit 
of God resting upon them as the 
first experience after their accept- 
ance of Christ. No believer has 
a right to pursue Christian work, 
however important, unless he can 
see the Spirit resting on him. 
78 



The Office Work of the Spirit 

2. He regenerates the believer. 

Psalms 104 : 30. — " Thou send- 
est forth Thy spirit ; they are cre- 
ated ; and thou renewest the face 
of the earth." Let us compare 
Jno. 3 : 6-8 — " That which is born 
of the flesh is flesh, and that which 
is born of the Spirit is spirit. Mar- 
vel not that I said unto thee, ye 
must be born again. The wind 
bloweth where it listeth, and thou 
hearest the sound thereof, but 
canst not tell whence it cometh, 
and whither it goeth : so is every- 
one that is born of the Spirit." 

What a needed truth this is for 
us to-day. We have our thousand 
and one pieces of machinery in the 
church of Christ, all aiming, or 
pretending to aim, at the regener- 
ation of the world. How import- 
ant that we should keep in mind 
that regeneration is of the Spirit. 
Our churches are filled with flesh. 

79 



The Office Work of the Spirit 

I am afraid it is because we liave 
brought them in by the energy of 
the flesh. Oh, for revivals that 
will sweep men in by the energy 
of the Spirit — Spirit-born men and 
women is the need of the church. 

3. He sanctifies the believer. 

Isaiah 4 : 4. — " When the Lord 
shall have washed away the filth 
of the daughters of Zion, and shall 
have purged the blood of Jerusa- 
lem from the midst thereof by the 
spirit of judgment, and by the 
spirit of burning." Compare Rom. 
15:16— " That I should be the 
minister of Jesus Christ to the 
Gentiles, ministering the gospel of 
God, that the offering up of the 
Gentiles might be acceptable, be- 
ing sanctified by the Holy Ghost." 

The word sanctify, in the Script- 
ures, has a double meaning — to 
cleanse and to separate. Here it 
means both. 1. The Spirit through 
80 



The Office Work of the Spirit 

Jesus Christ, cleanses. He burns 
up the dross and makes us clean. 
2. He separates. He takes us 
apart from the world and places us 
wholly in God's will. So that 
" Whether ye eat or drink, or 
whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory 
of God." This is our only hope 
for sanctified citizenship, or sancti- 
fied anything else. We must insist 
upon the believer's sanctification 
if we are to realize the believer's 
blessing. 

4. He produces Divine graces 
in the life of the believer. 

Ezek. 36 : 27 — " And I will put 
my spirit within you; and cause 
you to walk in my statutes, and 
ye shall keep my judgments, and 
do them." Compare Gal. 5 : 22-23 
— " But the fruit of the Spirit is 
love, joy, peace, long suffering, 

gentleness, goodness, faith, meek- 
Si 



The Office Work of the Spirit* 

ness, temperance: against such 

there is no law. 

This to me is one of the most 

important lessons for God's people 

to know. How many of His dear 

children are longing for a richer 

and fuller experience of grace, but 

are growing more lean and lank 

every day. The trouble must be 

in the failure of their method of 

seeking. Once there came into 

my study a woman, a member of 

my church, who was heart-broken 

over her inability to control her 

temper. Her husband was not a 

Christian and she said she believed 

that her temper was in the way. 

Knowing her as I did, I did not 

doubt it. Among other things 

she said to me, "I have written 

resolution after resolution, but 

they do no good." I said to her, 

"Suppose you try God's plan. 

You know the fruit of the Spirit 
82 



The Office Work of the Spirit 

is love, joy, peace, long suffering, 
gentleness, goodness, meekness, 
temperance and faith. " "Ah," 
she said, " I see. It's just giving 
up to the Spirit to do this thing." 
<'Yes," said I, "It is just that." 
In three weeks from that time her 
husband came to me and said, 
" My wife has got religion." Oh, 
dear Christian friends, how we 
need this truth to grip us to-day. 
Nothing can so bless our lives as 
a perpetual resignation to God the 
Spirit. 

5. He gives power to the believer. 

Zech. 4 : 6 — " Then he answered, 
and spake unto me, saying, 'This 
is the word of the Lord unto 
Zerubbabel, saying, not by might, 
nor by power, but by my spirit, 
saith the Lord of hosts.' " Com- 
pare Acts 1 : 8 — " But ye shall 
receive power, after that the Holy 
Ghost is come upon you : and ye 

83 



The Office Work of the Spirit 

shall be witnesses unto me both in 
Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and 
in Samaria, and unto the utter- 
most part of the earth." 

This promised power is for the 
Christian in all his experiences. 

i. For prayer. 

A man is never to know the 
power of prayer until he is Spirit 
endued. Rom. 8 : 26 — " Likewise 
the Spirit also helpeth our infirm- 
ities : for we know not what we 
should pray for as we ought : but 
the Spirit itself maketh interces- 
sion for us with groanings which 
cannot be uttered.' y 

2. For comprehending the Scrip- 
tures. 

No man can ever know the mind 
of the Scriptures, it makes no differ- 
ence how much human wisdom he 
may have, until he is wholly Spirit 
endued. 1 Cor. 2 : 11 — " For what 
man knoweth the things of man, 
84 



The Office Work of the Spirit 

save tlie spirit of man which, is in 
him? Even so the things of God 
knoweth no man, bnt the Spirit of 
God." Human wisdom may learn 
about the Word, but it can't learn 
the Word itself unless guided by 
His Spirit. I shall never forget 
a visit into Luray Cave, Virginia. 
As I went in I was given a candle, 
which was to furnish light. When 
we got in the midst of stalactites 
and stalagmites I was disappointed. 
They were pretty, but not half so 
pretty as I expected. Finally, my 
guide took from his pocket a roll 
of magnesium ribbon and asked 
me to give him my candle, which 
I did. He then touched the rib- 
bon to it, and such a light as I've 
never seen flashed out through 
the cave. My stalactites and 
stalagmites such as I never dream- 
ed of before were before me. They 
had been there all the time. I 

85 



The Office Work of the Spirit. 

had not been able to see them. 
So in the comprehension of the 
word of God. We fail, becanse 
we rely too mnch on the candle 
light of reason. God wants us to 
offer np onr minds to be tonched 
by His Spirit. Then the light 
flashes and that which we have 
never seen is bronght to light. 

3. For testimony and witness. 

Acts 1 : 8.—" Bnt ye shall re- 
ceive power, after that the Holy 
Ghost is come upon yon : and ye 
shall be witnesses unto me both in 
Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and 
in Samaria, and unto the utter- 
most part of earth. 5 ' This is the 
primary purpose of the enduement 
of power — witnessing for Jesus. 
See the picture. Jesus has given 
His great commission: "Go ye 
into all the world and preach the 
gospel to every creature." Then, 
as if the thought of the tremen- 

86 



The Office Work of the Spirit. 

dqusness of the task got hold on 
Him, lie said, " But tarry in Jeru- 
salem until ye are endued witli 
power from on high ; for ye stall 
receive power after that the Holy 
Ghost is come upon you." 

This is the need of the church 
to-day. We must not be content 
with salvation for ourselves. There 
is another equipment for service 
than even the blessed assurance of 
salvation. These disciples had 
that. Jesus had declared them to 
be clean through the Word. They 
were assured of salvation, but they 
had to be endued with the Spirit. 
It was an after equipment. But it 
must come before supernatural 
power takes the place of the 
natural. 

Scotcbfng tbe Cburcb* 

Again, I say this is our need to- 
day. God, the Spirit, is not en- 

87 



The Office Work of the Spirit. 

throned. I hope the church is 
saved, but I am sure it is not Spirit 
endued. 

Once I saw an electric car 
loaded with passengers come to a 
standstill about halfway up a hill. 
The motorman had great difficulty 
in keeping it from running back- 
wards. Somebody asked what was 
the matter, and the conductor said, 
" The trolley has jumped the tram- 
wire." How much like the church. 
The majority of us preachers are 
working more on the back brakes 
than anything else. We have 
given up to the standstill situa- 
tion. All we now hope for is to 
keep from running backward. 
There is no connection between the 
tramwire of power and our work. 
Oh, brother ministers, ours is an 
important and responsible place. 
We are as the trolley to the car. 
Whenever the preacher reaches up 

88 



The Office Work of the Spirit. 

himself and lays hold the Spirit ; 
then he is endued with the power 
from on high, he is going to com- 
municate it to his church, and the 
wheels of progress will begin to 
turn. God help us all to yield 
ourselves up to the Holy Ghost, 
and by faith, claim His power. 



8 9 



IReturn 

of 

(Tbrtst, 



VII. 

Zhc IReturn of Cbrist 

" This same Jesus shall so come in like man- 
ner as ye have seen Him go up into heaven.' ' — 
Acts i : if. 

In Venice there is a famous 
picture by Titian of the Conquer- 
ing Lord. Our Lord is represented 
as standing on the globe, while an- 
gels hover around Him to do 
His bidding. This, in reality, is 
the world's great need. 

I have recently made a tour 
throughout the continent of Eu- 
rope. I have tried to be fair, leni- 
ent and just in all my judgments. 
And after summing up all my con- 
clusions, I am prepared to conclude 
more than ever before, this old world 
needs not only a Saviour, but a 
King. Humanity at its best, is 
not able to govern itself. It never 
has been and never will be. Man 
is mortal. An earthly king may be 

93 



The Return of Christ* 



ever so good but he cannot govern 
mankind. When lie lias reached 
his highest possible attainments 
we can only regard him as an 
imperfect sovereign. The personal 
reign of Christ is our only hope. 

propbecies of tbe Second Coming* 

Let us now see if the Scriptures 
really contemplate our Lord's re- 
turn? 

(Suggestions from Rev. Shalto 
Douglas, England). 

/ Thess. 4 : 6. — Will come Him- 
self. 

Jno. 5 .• 28. — Dead shall hear His 
voice. 

/ Cor. 15 : Si'S 2 * — Shall be rais- 
ed and changed. 

/. Thess. 4 : 17. — Caught up to 
meet Him. 

Jno. 14 :j. — Received unto Him- 
self. 

Acts. 1 : 2. — Will come to earth. 

94 



The Return of Christ 



Acts, i : 12. — To same Mount of 
Olives. 

2 Thess. i : 8.- — In flaming fire. 

Matt. 24 : 30. — In clouds with 
power and great glory. 

/ Thess. 3 : 13. Jude 14. — With 
His Saints. 

Rev. 1 : 7. — Every eye shall see 
Him. 

2 Thess. 2 : 8. — Will destroy An- 
tichrist. 

Matt. 25:31. Rev. 3 : 21.— Will 
sit on His throne. 

Matt. 25 : 32. — All nations gath- 
ered together. 

Isa. 9 : 6-7. — His will be the 
throne of David. 

Jer. 23 : 5-6. — On earth. 

Dan. 7 ; 18-22-27. R ev * 5 : IO - — 
The saints shall reign. 

Ps. 72 : 2. Isa. 49 : 6-7. — All 
kings and nations shall serve Him. 

Zech. 9 : 10. Rev. 2 : 15. — Sov- 
ereignty this world His. 

95 



The Return of Christ. 



Gen. 49 ; 10. — The people shall 
gather unto Him. 

Ps. 86 : 9. Zech. 14 : 10. Jer. 
3 : 17. — The nations shall go up 
to Jerusalem to worship Him. 

ha. 45 : 23. — To Him every 
knee shall bow. 

Matt. 19 : 28. — Apostles on 
twelve thrones. 

ha. 9:/. — A rule of judgment 
and justice. 

Ez. 43 2-5. — Temple rebuilt in 
Jerusalem. 

Ez. 44 : 2-4. — The Lord will en- 
ter it. 

Rev. 20. — Reign a thousand 
years. 

With these Scriptures before us 
who can doubt the Lord's coming 
to reign on this earth. Oh, it is 
such a comforting hope. Thank 
God the blessed truth ever got into 
my own heart. Let us not try to 
spiritualize these Scriptures. Let 
them mean just what they say. 
96 



Doctrine 

of 

tbe 

IResurrection. 



VIII. 

Gbe 2)octtine of tbe IResur* 
rection. 

" Knowing that He which raised up the Iyord 
Jesus shall raise up us also." — 2 Cor. 4. ; 14. 

The saints' resurrection is made 
to hang upon the resurrection of 
Jesus Christ. It is the most im- 
portant consideration in Christian 
history. It is mentioned one hun- 
dred and four times in the New 
Testament. Paul declares, " If 
Christ be not risen, then is our faith 
vain." The resurrection was one 
of the most common doctrines 
preached by the Apostles. Let us 
see some of the ways they used it : 

Acts 1 : 22. — " Beginning from 
the baptism of John, until he was 
taken up from us, must one be 
ordained to be a witness with us of 
His resurrection." 

Acts 2 : 24.— " Whom God hath 
raised up, having loosed the pains 

Lore. 



The Doctrine of the Resurrection* 

of death because it was not possi- 
ble that he should be holden of it." 

Acts 3 : 14-15. — li But ye denied 
the Holy One and the Just, and de- 
sired a murderer to be granted unto 
you. God hath raised from the 
dead ; whereof we are witnesses." 

Acts 4 : 2. — " Being grieved that 
they taught the people, and 
preached through Jesus the resur- 
rection from the dead." 

Acts 4 : 33. — "And with great 
power gave the apostles witness of 
the resurrection of the Lord Jesus." 

Acts 13 : 29-30. "And when 
they had fulfilled all that was writ- 
ten of Him, they took Him down 
from the tree, and laid Him in a 
sepulchre. But God raised Him 
from the dead." 

-Acts 17:18.— "What will this 
babbler say ? He seemeth to be a 

setter forth of strange gods ; be- 
100 



The Doctrine of the Resurrection* 

cause lie preached unto them Jesus 
and the resurrection." 

Acts 23 : 6. — " I am a Pharisee, 
the son of a Pharisee, of the hope 
and resurrection of the dead I am 
called in question." 

Acts 26 : 8.— " Why should it be 
thought a thing incredible with 
you that God should raise the 
dead?" 

So we might contiuue through 
all the apostolic writings, and we 
would be astonished to find how 
much stress is put upon the sub- 
ject of the resurrection. 

No movement for the salvation 
of the world to-day can thrive if 
the resurrection of Jesus Christ is 
ignored. Let us then enter upon 
a Bible study of the resurrection. 

2)ifc Gforist 1Rtee trom tbe 2)ea& ? 

In arriving at this question let 
us introduce five gospel witnesses. 

1. The women. 

IOI 



The Doctrine of the Resurrection* 

Matt. 28 : 5-6.— " And the angel 
answered and said nnto tlie women: 
c Fear not ye, for I know that ye 
seek Jesus, which was crucified. 
He is not here, for He is risen.'" 
What strange, and yet glorious in- 
formation this was. How their sad 
and aching hearts must have been 
cheered. So close to Him they 
had been during His life ; so near 
Him they stood in His death. 
They were the last to leave the 
cross, and now they are the first to 
visit the tomb, and to catch the 
first ray of resurrection light that 
is to cover the earth. What a com- 
pliment, too, this is to woman. It 
places upon her the honor of mak- 
ing the first testimony concerning 
the risen Christ. This, too, was 
made to men. How it should 
knock the prejudice out of some of 
us to-day. The idea that a woman 
has no right to testify concerning 



The Doctrine of the Resurrection* 

Jesus Christ is so contrary to the 
Master's plan as revealed here, in 
the case of these women, that we 
find ourselves hard pressed to ex- 
ercise proper charity toward those 
who hold such views. Think of it : 
the Master selected women to break 
the resurrection news to His own 
disciples. 

2. The Disciples. 

John 20 : 19. — " Then the same 
day at evening, being the first day 
of the week, when the doors were 
shut where the disciples were as- 
sembled for fear of the Jews, came 
Jesus and stood in the midst." 

The women had gone in obe- 
dience to the command and told 
the disciples that they had seen 
the Lord, and that he desired to 
meet with them. And they had 
assembled there in the room, doubt- 
less, for the purpose of arranging 

for His visit. Oh, glorious visit 

103 



The Doctrine of the Resurrection* 

it was. Poor discouraged disciples. 
They had not understood it all. 
They had been so dependent upon 
Him. All their wants He had 
supplied. Their hopes had been 
very high. But, since the cross 
and the grave had claimed their 
Lord, they were about ready to yield 
up their hopes. But how changed 
since the appearance of Jesus in 
their midst. Doubtless they were 
skeptical in receiving the testi- 
mony of the women. Some people 
think women too much made of 
heart to be relied on in religious 
testimony. So they might have 
thought, but since Jesus comes to 
testify for Himself there can be no 
doubt. 

3. Thomas. 

John 20 : 27-28. — " Then saith 

He to Thomas : Reach hither thy 

finger, and behold my hands ; 

reach hither thy hand, and thrust 
104 



The Doctrine of the Resurrection* 

it into my side ; and be not faith- 
less, but believing. And Thomas 
answered and said unto Him, 'My 
Lord and my God ! } " This, to me, 
has always been a very pathetic 
incident. It is said, " Thomas was 
not with them when Jesus came." 

He might have been afraid. It 
was a very unpopular thing to be 
known as a disciple about this time. 

He might have been busy. 
Heretofore they had relied upon 
Jesus to supply their every 
want. But now Jesus is no more 
with them, and it looks as if they 
had to look out for themselves. 

He might have been sensitive. 
He might not have enjoyed the 
Master's designation of Peter. 
Some people miss rich blessings 
because of just such a sensitive 
spirit. 

It makes no difference what the 
reason was, it was a fact, " Thomas 

105 



The Doctrine of the Resurrection* 

was not with them when Jesus 
came." And it took a special meet- 
ing with the disciples again for the 
Lord to convince him of His resur- 
rection. 

4. The Disciples Fishing. 
John 21 : 1. — " After these things 

Jesus showed Himself again to the 
disciples at the sea of Tiberias.' J 

5. Paul's Statement. 

1 Cor. 15 : 5-8. — "He was seen 
of Cephas, then of the twelve. 
After that he was seen of above five 
hundred. After that he was seen 
of James; then of all the Apostles. 
And last of all he was seen of me." 

Surely there is no one who would 
question the resurrection of Jesus 
Christ in the face of such an array 
of witnesses. 



106 



Significance 

of 

tbe 

IResnrrection. 



IX. 

£be Significance of tbe IReenr* 
rection. 

"That I may know Him and the power of 
His resurrection.' ' — Phil. 3 : io« 

i. It is tlie fulfillment of pro- 
phecy. 

The Old Testament prophets 
looked for the resurrection. Acts 
2 : 29-31. — " David being a prophet, 
and knowing that God had sworn 
with an oath to him, that of the 
fruit of his loins, according to the 
flesh, he would raise up Christ to 
sit on his throne. He seeing this 
before, spake of the resurrection of 
Christ." Thus we have Peter in 
his memorable sermon on the day 
of Pentecost interpreting the pro- 
phecy of David to mean the resur- 
rection of Christ. 

Christ Himself also prophesied. 

John 2 : 19. — " Destroy this tem- 

109 



The Significance of the Ressutredion* 

pie, and in three days I will raise 
it up." 

2. It is inseparably linked with 
the atonement. 

i Cor. 15 : 17-18.— " If Christ be 
not raised, your faith is vain; ye 
are yet in your sins. Then they 
also which are fallen asleep in 
Christ are perished." The grave, 
therefore, is just as essentially a 
part of the atonement plan as the 
cross. And His resurrection as 
essential as His death. Soul and 
body are inseparably connected in 
the plan of redemption. Christ 
redeemed the soul on the cross, and 
the body by the resurrection. 

3. His resurrection is also essen- 
tial to place him as our advocate. 

Rom. 8 : 34.— " Who is he that 
condemneth? It is Christ that 
died, yea rather, risen again, who 
is even at the right hand of God, 
who also maketh intercession for 

no 



The Significance of the Resurrection* 

us." Remember that it was not 
only necessary that Jesus by His 
shed blood atone for sin, but He 
must also, to make the atonement 
complete, take the sacrificial blood 
and carry it into the Holy of Holies 
and present it as the sin offering for 
the people. Oh, blessed thought, 
Christ, our high priest inside the 
Holy of Holies, pleading His own 
blood as the price of our souls. 

4. It is comprehended by saving 
faith. 

Rom. 10 : 9. — "If thou shalt con- 
fess with thy mouth the Lord 
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine 
heart that God hath raised Him 
from the dead, thou shalt be saved." 
Note the stress that is here put 
upon the resurrection of Jesus 
Christ. 

To be saved means to embrace 
not only the Christ of the cross, 
but the Christ of the grave. 

in 



The Significance of the Resurrection* 

5. It is a sign of that spiritual 
change through which every be- 
liever passes. 

Rom. 6 : 4-5. — "We are buried 
with Him by baptism into death ; 
that like as Christ was raised from 
the dead by the glory of the Father, 
even so we also should walk in the 
newness of life. For if w r e have 
been planted together in the like- 
ness of His death, we shall also be 
in the likeness of His resurrection." 

Baptism is an outward sign of an 
inward change. The burial and 
resurrection of Jesus Christ, as set 
forth in baptism, means death to 
sin and resurrection to a new life. 
Every redeemed man has the grave 
between him and the world. On 
the cross his worldly lusts died in 
Christ. In the grave they were 
buried with Christ. On the resur- 
rection day he came forth with 

Christ into resurrection glory to 
112 



The Significance of the Resurrection* 

walk in newness of life. The cross 
shows our death, the grave our life. 
Never lose sight of the grave. It 
is only when we live in the appro- 
priation of the resurrection life that 
we are able to conquer the flesh. 

6. It is the pledge of our exalta- 
tion. 

Eph. 2 : 5-6. — "Even when we 
were dead in sins, God hath quick- 
ened us together with Christ. And 
hath raised us up together, and 
made us sit together in heavenly- 
places in Christ Jesus." Every be- 
liever was once dead in sin. Christ 
hath quickened him — put life in 
him. But that is not all ; by the 
resurrection of Christ the believer 
has also been raised to a new life. 
This is a precious truth, but it is 
not all. When Jesus Christ as- 
cended the believer went with Him. 
And when Jesus took His seat at 
the right hand of God, the Father, 

"3 



* The Significance of the Resurrection* 

the believer sat down with Him. 
Oh, what a precious state is ours 
in Christ Jesus. In Him we are 
now exalted to sit at the right hand 
of God. 

7. It is a guarantee of our own 
resurrection. 

2 Cor. 4 : 14. — "Knowing that 
He which raised up the Lord Jesus 
shall raise up us also by Jesus." 
What a glorious hope this is. 
Standing by an open grave the 
other day, at Oakland Cemetery, a 
weeping sister said to me just as 
they were letting her brother down 
in the grave, "Oh, Mr. Broughton, 
do you really believe that he'll ever 
rise again ?' ) I replied to her : " As 
sure as God lives in heaven and 
rules on earth." Thank God, I 
believe it. I do not see how I could 
go to the cemetery as frequently as 
I do if I did not have this hope. 

114 



first 
TResurrection. 



X. 

TCbe Jfiret IResurrection. 

4 'For the Lord Himself shall descend from 
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Arch- 
angel and with the trump of God; and the dead 
in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are 
alive and remain shall be caught up together 
with them in the clouds, to meet the I^ord in 
the air."— / Thess. 4 ; 16-17. 

There are four blessed truths 
taught here iu this short para- 
graph: 

1. The return of our Lord. 

2. The first resurrection — the 
righteous dead. 

3. The change of the living — 
righteous living. 

4. Caught up to meet the Lord 
in the air. 

I never really enj oy ed the thought 
of the Lord's return until I saw the 
two resurrections. I used to think 
that He was coming at the end of 
the world to judge the world. But 
that's a mistake. He is coming 

117 



The First Resurrection* 



not in judgment, but in glory. He 
is coming to live and reign with 
His resurrected and changed saints. 
When Christ comes to call the 
righteous dead forth, and change 
the righteous living, whether we 
be dead or alive, if we are in Him 
we shall reign in perfect triumph 
over the powers of darkness by His 
might. 

I believe we shall recognize one 
another on this resurrection day. 
Only a few days ago a mother came 
to my home to talk with me. She 
was heart-broken and almost ready 
to go into nervous prostration. It 
was really prostration of grief. She 
had lost her only child, a little boy. 
When the little fellow was quite an 
infant her husband died. Oh, it 
was a sad moment for that mother, 
when her last light in the home 
went out. No wonder she wept 
herself sick. " There is just one 

118 



The First Resurrection. 



thing I want to talk to you about/' 
said she. " Do you believe I will 
know him in heaven ?" "Why," 
said I, "I haven't a bit more doubt 
about knowing folks in heaven 
than I have of my existence. Be- 
sides, 5 ' said I, " we'll know one 
another before we get to heaven. 
We'll know each other at the first 
resurrection." 

Jesus Christ illustrated the vari- 
ous stages and experiences through 
which we pass. His disciples knew 
Him. There was no question about 
that. He had the same physical 
marks after He passed through the 
grave that He had before. And so, 
when we shall have passed through 
it, we shall just as assuredly pos- 
sess our marks of distinction as He 
did. And I don't know but that 
we will know them even before this. 

I always feel a sympathy with the 
little girl who, when dying, asked 

119 



The First Resurrection. 



to be told of her mother. She had 
only a faint recollection of her 
mother, for she died when the child 
was quite young. As the little 
thing lay gasping for breath she 
said to some one nearby, "Tell me 
about mother. Bring her picture 
close to me. I want to see her." 
Then she drew a deep breath and 
gave a long sigh, and then opened 
her eyes wide, and smiled and said, 
' ( Mother ! Mother ! " I believe she 
went straight into her mother's 
arms. 

It may seem simple to many of 
you to have me speak thus, but I 
cannot help it. I believe just this 
way about it. And I am so glad I 
do. I am so glad to think that, 
while I trust I am learning more 
every day of the deep things of 
God and of the affairs of the world, 
still my faith is growing more and 
more like that of a child, and I find 

I20 



The First Resurrection* 



it easier and easier to grasp and 
believe these things. Thank God 
for simple faith. 

I have some mighty good friends 
whose bodies are in the ground and 
whose spirits are with God. Every 
year the number increases, until it 
is getting to be quite a company in 
the spirit world. Some of them 
have gone up from my church. 
Some I have led to Christ. Oh, 
it's a happy company ; but it will 
be much happier when on this 
resurrection day we shall come to- 
gether, soul and body, to live for- 
ever with Jesus. 

I have many loved ones in that 
company. I think of grandparents, 
who were good to me and loved me 
dearer than their own life. I think 
of an infant sister and of an older 
brother, with whom I passed 
through school and entered upon 
life. I have a dear, sweet mother, 

121 



The First Resurrection* 



who had during her lifetime loved 
me away from temptation and kept 
me from evil. I think of a little 
boy, the first in our home; of a 
darling little girl, the next to 
come. These spirits are all now 
with the Lord, but we shall all 
meet again when we get our new 
bodies on the first resurrection 
day. Oh, how blessed the thought 
that through Jesus Christ eternity 
will be spent in such companion- 
ship. 

TIbe IRest ot tbe Deafc* 
But some may ask what of the 
rest of the dead ? Rev. 20 : 5-6. — 
"The rest of the dead lived not 
again until the thousand years 
were finished. Blessed and holy 
is he that hath part in the first 
resurrection." 



122 



Saints 
daugbt 



XL 

Gbe Saints Caugbt Tflp. 

I ' And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will 
come again, and receive you unto myself ; that 
where I am, there ye may be also."— John 14:3. 

II For the Lord Himself shall descend from 
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Arch- 
angel, and with the trump of God; and the dead 
in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are 
alive and remain shall be caught up together 
with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in 
the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 
— / Thess. 4 ; 16-17. 

Christ and Paul are both talking 
of the rapture of the saints. Jesus 
is absent only for a season. He 
is preparing a place for His own. 
He will come again to take them to 
Himself. This shall just as surely 
be as His word is true. But who 
will go up with Him when He 
comes in the clouds at the first 
resurrection ? The righteous dead 
and the righteous living. The un- 
righteous dead and the unrighteous 
living are left. The unrighteous 

123 



The Saints Caught Up* 



dead sleep on in their graves until 
the thousand years, which we shall 
soon study about, is past. 

What a time this will be. Parent 
will be separated from child. Hus- 
band will be parted from wife, and 
friend from friends. There will be 
no stopping the chariot when it 
starts from earth to the clouds. 
Oh, how necessary that we watch. 
That we watch for ourselves and 
also try to have everybody else 
ready. 

We must not be ashamed when 
He comes for us. i Jno. 2 : 28. — 
"And now, little children, abide in 
Him ; that when He shall appear 
we may have confidence and not be 
ashamed before Him at His com- 
ing.' y Oh, God, help us so to live 
that we can look the blessed Lord 
in the face. We may have to pass 
through many trials, but let us re- 
member, after all, 
126 



The Saints Caught Up* 



" The flower which Bethlehem saw bloom 

Out of a heart full of grace, 
Gave never forth its full perfume, 

Until the cross became its vase." 

This is also a glorious thought 
— the bride going up to meet the 
bridegroom. All these years He 
has been waiting for her to be 
made ready. She has been so 
slow, but now she is ready, and 
He comes, and she meets Him in 
the air. The marriage supper is 
celebrated. What a gracious hour 
— Christ and His bride united. 
"And while they went to buy, the 
bridegroom came ; and they that 
were ready went in with Him to 
the marriage; and the door was 
shut" (Matt. 25 : 10). " Let us be 
glad and rejoice, and give honor 
unto Him, for the marriage of the 
Lamb is come, and His wife hath 
made herself ready. And to her 
was granted that she should be ar- 
rayed in fine linen, clean and 

127 



The Saints Caught Up* 



white ; for tlie fine linen is the 
righteousness of the saints. And 
He saith unto me, l Write, Blessed 
are they which are called unto the 
marriage supper of the Lamb.' 
And He saith unto me, i These 
are the true sayings of God' " (Rev. 
19 : 7-9). 

4 ' They tell me a solemn story, 

But it is not sad to me; 
For in its sweet enfoldings, 

The Saviour's love I see. 
They say that at any moment, 

Upon my ear may fall, 
The summons to leave our homestead, 

To answer the Master's call. 

1 ' They say I may have no warning ; 

I may not even hear, 
The rustling of His garments, 

As He softly draweth near. 
Suddenly, and in a moment, 

The Lord of life may come. 
To lift me up from this cloud-land, 

Into the light of Home." 

Hn TFncentive- 

Unless there is here some prac- 
tical significance, it is time wasted 
128 



The Saints Caught Up* 



to convince the world of these 
truths. 

First. The possibility of an im- 
mediate coming of our Lord ought 
to make us look well to our own 
hearts. 

Suppose to-night He should 
come, am I ready? What a stim- 
ulous to heart searching. Am I 
ready ? 

Second. Are those I love ready ? 

Think of the babe going to meet 
the Lord, taken from mother's lap, 
and mother left. Such a sad 
thought. Friends, are your loved 
ones ready ? 

Have I been faithful in telling 
others at home and abroad ? Oh, 
solemn reflection. God help us to 
be ready, " For ye know neither 
the day nor the hour wherein the 
Sonofmancometh" (Matt. 25 : 13). 



129 



(Sreat 
tribulation. 



XII. 

Zbe <Sreat tribulation, 

" And the seventh angel sounded; and there 
were great voices in heaven, saying, The king- 
doms of this world are become the kingdoms of 
our Iyord and of His Christ.' * — Rev, u ; fj. 

Immediately following the rap- 
ture of tlie saints at tlie first resur- 
rection is tlie period of the great 
tribulation. Tlie Devil is in abso- 
lute control. Tlie Holy Spirit's 
day lias passed. Christ lias not 
yet come to the earth — He is in 
tlie clouds with His saints. The 
Devil is in charge. Rev. 12 : 12. — 
"Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, 
and ye that dwell in them. Woe 
to the inhabiters of the earth and 
of the sea, for the Devil is come 
down unto you, having great 
wrath, because he knoweth that 
he hath but a short time." These 
will be days of awful tribulation. 
The Devil will have full sway. 

133 



The Great Tribulation. 



No wonder the wicked dread the 
coming again of our Lord." Matt. 
24:21-22. — " For then shall be 
great tribulation, such as was not 
since the beginning of the world 
to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 
And except those days should be 
shortened, there should no flesh 
be saved : but for the elect's sake 
those days shall be shortened. " 
Rev. 9 : 6. — "And in those days 
shall men seek death, and shall 
not find it ; and shall desire to die, 
and death shall flee from them." 

Coming JBacft to IRefgn* 

But this is not all. When 
Christ and His bride are united in 
the air then they will come back 
to earth. Rev. 20 : 1-6. — "And I 
saw an angel come down from 
heaven, having the key of the bot- 
tomless pit and a great chain in 
his hand. And he laid hold on 

134 



The Great Tribulation. 



the dragon, that old serpent, which, 
is tlie Devil, and Satan, and bound 
him a thousand years, and cast 
him into the bottomless pit, and 
shut him up, and set a seal upon 
him, that he should deceive the 
nations no more till the thousand 
years be fulfilled; and after that 
he must be loosed a little season. 
And I saw thrones, and they sat 
upon them, and judgment was 
given unto them : and I saw the 
souls of them that were beheaded 
for the witness of Jesus, and for 
the word of God, and which had 
not worshipped the beast, neither 
his image, neither had received 
his mark upon their foreheads, or 
in their hands ; and they lived and 
reigned with Christ a thousand 
years. But the rest of the dead 
lived not again until the thousand 
years were finished. This is the 
first resurrection. Blessed and holy 

135 



The Great Tribulation* 



is lie that hath part in the first 
resurrection ; on such the second 
death hath no power, but they 
shall be priests of God and Christ, 
and shall reign a thousand years." 
The thought to my mind is this : 
Christ must bring His bride back 
here on their bridal tour. She has 
never seen this world in its real 
beauty. Sin has blighted and 
blurred it. Jesus is going to let 
His bride see what a world this is, 
and so He sends an angel down to 
prepare for the coming. His 
orders are the " Devil must be 
chained, put in the pit and shut 
up." He will not allow him to 
roam the earth now. Then will 
come the bridal party to the "new 
earth." Zech. 14 : 9.— "And the 
Lord shall be king over all the 
earth : in that day shall there be 
one Lord, and His name one." 
Rev. 19 : 1 2-1 5-16. — "His eyes 
136 



The Great Tribulation* 



were a flame of fire, and on His 
head were many crowns ; and He 
had a name written that no man 
knew bnt He Himself. And out 
of His month goeth a sharp sword, 
that with it He should smite the 
nations: and He shall rnle them 
with a rod of iron : and He treadeth 
the winepress of the fierceness and 
wrath of Almighty God. And He 
hath on His vesture and on His 
thigh a name written, King of 
Kings mid Lord of Lords" 

What a great time. The Devil 
in hell, where he belongs. No 
more deceptions, no more heart- 
aches and crying. The Devil is 
silenced. 

This is what we call the millen- 
nium. It is the answer to the 
prayer of Christ, which was given 
as onr pattern: — "Thy kingdom 
come, Thy will be done, on earth 

137 



The Great Tribulation* 



as in heaven." This could never 
occur until Satan is out of the way, 

Jerusalem, tbe TKttorRTs Capital* 

Acts. 15-17. — " And to this agree 
the words of the prophets ; as it is 
written, 'After this I will return 
and will build again the tabernacle 
of David, which is fallen down; 
and I will build again the ruins 
thereof, and I will set it up: That 
the residue of men might seek 
after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, 
upon whom my name is called, 
saith the Lord, who doeth all these 
things.' " Isa. 2:2-3. — "And it 
shall come to pass in the last days 
that the mountain of the Lord's 
house shall be established in the 
top of the mountains, and shall be 
exalted above the hills; and all 
nations shall flow unto it. And 
many people shall go and say, 
'Come ye, let us go up to the 

138 



The Great Tribulation* 



mountain of the Lord, to the house 
of the God of Jacob ; and He will 
teach us of His ways, and we will 
walk in His paths : for out of Zion 
shall go forth the law and the word 
of the Lord from Jerusalem." 

TLhe Salvation of HsraeL 

Rom. ii : 26. — "And so all Is- 
rael shall be saved: as it is written, 
( There shall come out of Zion the 
Deliverer, and shall turn away un- 
godliness from Jacob.' " Ezek. 
37 : 23. — " Neither shall they defile 
themselves any more with their 
idols, nor with their detestable 
things, nor with any of their trans- 
gressions ; but I will save them out 
of all their dwelling places, wherein 
they have sinned, and will cleanse 
them : so shall they be my people, 
and I will be their God." Ezek. 
36 : 25-27-29. — "Then will I 
sprinkle clean water upon you, and 

139 



The Great Tribulation* 



ye shall be clean: from all your 
filthiness and from all your idols 
will I cleanse you. A new heart 
also will I give you, and a new 
spirit will I put within you : and 
I will take away the stony heart 
out of your flesh, and I will give 
you a heart of flesh. And I will 
put my spirit within you, and 
cause you to walk in my statutes, 
and ye shall keep my judgments 
and do them. I will also save 
you from all your uncleannesses : 
and I will call for the corn and 
will increase it, and lay no famine 
upon you." 

" Dimmer the glories of earth now appear — 
Fleeting and gay, passing away, 
Fading as stars do when sunrise is near — 
Ivost in the dawning of Day ! 

1 ' Nearing onr tenderly loved ones above, 
Whom we will meet, joyfully greet, 
Glad that with them we are saved by His 
love — 
Garnered together as wheat ! 
140 



The Great Tribulation* 



11 Soon may our ' King in His beauty ' be seen, 
Throned with His own, sorrow all flown, 
Mortals then happy, and Nature serene, — 
Wrong and oppression o'erthrown ! 

1 ' Longing, O Saviour, Thy face to behold ! 
Trusting with Thee always to be, 
Earth and its pleasures grow dreary and cold, 
Waiting Thy glory to see. ' ' 



141 



(Sreat 
3ufcgment 



XIII. 

£be (Breat 3ufcQment. 

" We shall all stand before the judgment seat 
of Christ." — Rom. 14 : 10. 

''And the sea gave up the dead which were in 
it ; and death and hell delivered up the dead 
which were in them : and they were judged 
every man according to their works." — Rev. 
20 : 13. 

We now come to close these 
studies with some thoughts on the 
judgment. And we are to deal 
only with the last judgment. It is 
after the earthly reign of our Lord 
has ended. 

When I was in Europe I went to 
a cathedral not in use, only as a 
museum. On the wall is a picture 
I had read about and desired to 
see, and put myself to some trouble 
to view. It is now out of date. 
That picture represents the judg- 
ment. Seated upon His throne of 
magnificence is Christ. I can 
not begin to describe the appear- 



The Great Judgment 



ance of that throne. Behind Him 
are His apostles and disciples for 
the purpose, it would seem, of aid- 
ing Him in the work of the judg- 
ment. And just in front of Him 
is a great crowd of people — just as 
far as you can see there is a head. 
And standing near the front of 
the people is an angel, a beauti- 
ful form, bearing in her hands a 
pair of balances. Over this picture 
of balances is written, " Thou art 
weighed in the balances and found 
— ." I have been told by people 
who are well acquainted with that 
church, that time after time men 
and women have gone in there, as 
I went, from mere curiosity, and 
fallen in the aisles and begged for 
mercy and prayed for salvation. I 
want to say to 3^ou I have never 
had anything in my life affect me 
as that picture. At first there was 

nothing specially striking about it. 
146 



The Great Judgment 



I folded my arms and looked at it, 
and I called to mind the Scripture 
about the judgment. But as I 
stood and looked at it, cold chills 
ran up my back. I wish I were an 
artist; I would paint just such a 
picture and put it out here before 
you. I cannot paint a picture in 
words, but I can talk about the 
judgment. 

Wben is tbe Ju&ament, an& Wbat 
is it f or ? 

For special reasons I shall pre- 
sent two judgments. Of course, 
my purpose is to deal with the 
judgment of the last great day, or 
the judgment of the great white 
throne. But, for practical pur- 
poses, there is a judgment at death. 
There is no such thing as an inter- 
mediate place between death and 
judgment. The man who dies, as- 
suredly is either in heaven or hell. 

147 



The Great Judgment 



There is not a grave big enough to 
hold a soul. You are here to-day, 
you are there to-morrow. This is 
the j udgment of assignment. We 
have got to have a place and there 
has got to be some method of as- 
signment. 

TKttbat is to Determine tbat place 
of Hssf gnment ? 

Some think it is the life. It is 
not the life. Your life does not 
have anything to do with the as- 
signment of your soul. No man 
ever went to hell because he was a 
bad man, and no man ever went to 
heaven because he was a good man. 
Let that burn in your heart. No 
man was ever sent to hell because 
he committed some overt sin. 
Jesus Christ, in John 3 : 18, says: 
"He that believeth on Him is not 
condemned : but he that believeth 
not is condemned already, because 

he hath not believed in the name 
148 



The Great Judgment 



of tlie only begotten Son of God." 
When you come to the judgment 
of death the only question is, what 
have you done with the shed blood 
of Jesus Christ? Now, brother, this 
is the Scripture : Have you accepted 
the atoning blood of Christ? If 
you have not, you are just as cer- 
tainly doomed to hell as hell is a 
fact. Yes, you are doomed, be- 
cause you have not believed. It 
is a question of faith. Have you 
accepted the blood of Christ? He 
was sent from heaven to die on this 
earth to pay the debt of sin. No 
man will ever go to heaven unless 
he turns to the blood. You re- 
member when the Destroying 
Angel came the first time it was 
said, " Sprinkle blood on the lintel 
and door posts." He was to look 
for the blood and nothing else. 

You fail to accept Jesus Christ in 

149 



The Great Judgment. 



His substitutionary work on the 
cross, and you are a doomed man. 

"But," you say, " what of a bad 
man who claims to accept Christ as 
Lord and Master ?" I answer, his 
claims are positively false. That 
settles that question. 

Ube f inal— tbe 3u&gment 

Now we pass to the judgment of 
the great white throne, about which 
we want to speak most. This is 
the day of the last judgment. 
This is the judgment of rewards. 
This is the judgment when life will 
come up and play its part. This is 
the judgment when your overt sins 
will be dealt with. When we will 
be punished according to the works 
done in the body and will be re- 
warded for the works done in the 
body. When He gets ready to wind 
up this world He will call all the 
angels in heaven and hell. He will 
150 



The Great Judgment 



call for the sum total of your life. 
And you are going to be rewarded 
for the deeds done in the body. 

When a man dies he simply 
ceases activity ; his life goes on 
until the world comes to an end. 
Science tells us that the noise of 
these great car wheels, the shrieks 
that come from ruined homes, the 
cry of men and women, that all 
these things, will be wafted onward, 
until this confusion of sound will 
blend in one glorious harmony. So 
the life began on this earth will 
never end until this world stops. 
The influence you put in motion 
here will never, never, never stop 
till the world ends. Do you think 
the work of George Muller has 
ceased ? Do you think he is dead ? 
You go to England and see those 
little children. See if Muller is 
dead. Do you think Moody is dead? 
Life is indestructible. It never, 

151 



The Great Judgment 



never ends until the world stops. 
Here is a man who takes his money 
out of his pocket and educates and 
blesses many girls who become tlie 
mothers of children. Those children 
go into society and bless somebody 
else. And on and on that thing 
goes until the world stops. That 
young man that you take and sit 
down by and teach him his first 
game of cards may become a gam- 
bler, and then you would give any- 
thing to undo that act. But it is 
done. He will teach somebody 
else, and on and on until the end ; 
you cannot stop that thing. Life 
is continuous. Every man bas a 
chain in which he is the first link. 
A second link is added to number 
one, and a third to number two, and 
a fourth to number three, and on 
and on these links go as we influence 
men. You cannot destroy life. If 
this is not enough to make a man 
152 



The Great Judgment 



stop and think, I don't know what 
will be. God kelp us to take that 
thought now, and let us stop this 
life of sin. 

Now, friends, just a few things 
about some of the 

Characteristics of tbe SufcQtnent, 

This is the time of all others 
when you are to get justice, be- 
cause Jesus Christ is to be judge. 
You know it is impossible to get 
justice here in this life. You know 
that society to-day is just as unjust 
as it can be. You know a young 
man, though he may live a life of 
impurity, may go and mingle in 
society, while the poor woman is 
turned outside in the cold. You 
know that is unjust. You know 
it is unjust to take the woman 
guilty of the same sin you are and 
put her low down, while you go 
about with a high head. Society 

153 



The Great Judgment 



knows that is unjust. I believe it 
is going to be that way until Jesus 
conies. But when we stand before 
the judgment God is going to 
measure us by His standard. You 
know a man can go and make 
promises, and cheat his creditors 
out of money, and put up a sign 
over his door in the name of his 
wife and go on in business. Some 
men don't mind putting on a 
woman's dress when it comes to 
aiding in fraud, and yet they say, 
"I am not hen-pecked." Justice! 
justice ! will be the cry at the judg- 
ment. 

There will come a time when the 
spotless Lamb of God will be the 
judge. We are going to stand 
there and look God in the face, and 
He will tell the world who it is 
that is in the wrong. We are 
going to stand before that judg- 
ment, and the world will know. It 

154 



The Great Judgment 



is not going to be long. My time 
in this world is short, and soon I 
am going to step off the stage of 
life, and the little institutions I 
have formed down here will live or 
die. God will arrange that. 

This judgment is individual. 
We cannot hide behind our 
father; we cannot hide behind 
our church ; we cannot hide be- 
hind the court; it is individual. 
The books are going to be opened, 
and every man will be judged ac- 
cording to the deeds done in the 
body. 

The other day I stepped upon a 
pair of scales, and as soon as I did 
there was dropped out a card telling 
me the number of pounds I 
weighed, the date and the 
place I was weighed. Bvery step 
you take in this life is registered 
in God's book in heaven, and there 
it stays to meet us when this 

155 



The Great Judgment 



world stops. Our only escape 
from it is the blood of Jesus Christ. 
I tell you another thing. This 
judgment means the separation of 
ties that have been so sweet on this 
earth. Last February I came near 
the end. The one thing that came 
with most terror was the separation 
from my loved ones and friends. I 
love my own family, and the older 
I get the tighter the tie binds me to 
both family and friends. I don't 
want to think of separation. When 
I go to leave my house and think 
of the little crowd I leave behind, 
it is a hard thing to do. I never 
had this thing take hold of me as 
it did when I stood by my mother's 
death-bed. I said good-bye to her. 
She gave me a " God bless you," 
and I went back to my home in 
another part of the State. The 
next day I got a telegram saying, 
" Mother is dead ; come home." 
156 



The Great Judgment 



And through the coldest weather I 
ever traveled, I rode fourteen miles 
in a buggy. When I came in sight 
of the old cottage I felt that some- 
thing had happened. Up to this 
time it had been something I had 
not realized. I could not, for the 
life of me, realize she was dead. I 
saw the friends standing in the 
yard and porch. And then when 
I went to the door my baby brother 
met me and put his arms around 
my neck, and, with tears running 
down his cheeks, said, " Mother is 
dead." It struck my heart with a 
thud I can never forget. I went 
then and looked down in my 
mother's dead face; I saw the lips 
I had just kissed, and saw the 
hands that had patted my head ; 
and saw the eyes that had looked 
out through the window as I went 
down the street. I said, " Yes, the 
truest, sweetest, purest human be- 

157 



The Great Judgment 



ing that God ever graced this earth 
with is gone, gone, gone." I knelt 
down and tried to call her back, bnt 
" Gone, gone," rang in niy heart 
again and again. The next two 
days there came over nie the im- 
pressions of my childhood, " When 
mother dies I am going to take 
poison and j ump into the grave with 
her." Nobody else felt that way, 
because she was not their mother. 
But thank God for the sweet hope ! 
Oh, we will strike hands again, 
and walk the golden streets. I 
want to put my arms around her 
and sit down by the side of the 
river of life and bless her through- 
out all eternity for the good les- 
sons she taught me. The Lord 
keep us from experiencing the 
sad separation at the judgment. 



158 



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